Civil War A to Z

By Marsha E. Kalman

Compiles information on generals, battles, people, and major events of the Civil War including such topics as the Andersonville Prison, the Gettysburg Address, and abolitionists. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517162113
• ISBN13: 9780517162118
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Gramercy
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.3" x 0.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Not Comprehensive But Good Civil War Introduction

"Civil War A-Z" is not, nor does it pretend to be a comprehensive history of the Civil War. There are approximately 200 entries in little more than 100 pages of text. So we're talking a pretty slim volume here.But as Author Kalman points out to her credit, "...Civil War A-Z provides a point of reference for the general reader. It describes the important, and sometimes unusual people, ideas and events of the war"...And it works.While the major personalities and battles are reiterated in brief passages perhaps frustrating to the not-so-novice reader, Kalman also mentions those who weren't so well-known, including the Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer, a one-time Whig Congressman and colleague of Abraham Lincoln, who decided to wear a white raincoat while riding into Union lines during the Battle of Mill Springs. For this folly Zollicoffer paid with his life, when a Union soldier, ironically another friend of Lincoln's, shot him dead in the saddle!"Civil War A-Z" also sheds light on the secret organizations that supported the North and South. Ever hear of the "Heroes of America"? They were southerners living in Tennessee, Arkansas and elsewhere who actively opposed the war and did what they could to discourage Southern men from enlisting in the Confederate Armies. Or "The Knights of the Golden Circle"? They were Northerners for the most part, aided and abetted by Confederate Agents who tried to bring down the Union War effort.Ever hear of Edmund Raffin? Or Stand Watie? Or the Hampton Roads Conference or General Order Number 11? They are among some of the other topics that can be found here. The role of minority groups are represented, albeit frustratingly brief, as are technological advances which came to light during the Civil War. Even Thaddeus Sobieski Coulincourt Lowe is mentioned here for his development of airship reconnaisance for the Union Armies, but his role in the development of Cal Tech is sadly neglected.All in all, "Civil War A-Z" is a good beginner's manual to the Civil War, and compliments the Civil War Society's equally slim volumes "Civil War Generals" and "Civil War Battles" or those excellent trivial volumes written by Webb Garrison. But only a beginning. Kalman's book is a good vehicle for the young, or Civil War novice reader - but not substantial. To those readers interesting in increasing your knowledge of the Civil War, this writer heartily recommends going on to "The New American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War", U.S. Grant's "Memoirs", Burke Davis' "The Civil War: Strange and Fascinating Facts", and those fine volumes of Sandburg's biography of Abraham Lincoln, to name just some of the myriad of Civil War works available.